*smooch* You're a sweetie. I know I sound like a whiner, it's just that I'm really messed up about the way I messed this piece up. I totally sabotaged myself. I can take it when a piece fails because of execution problems or lack of skill, or even too much ambition. But this was me saying "Wait...I see how I can do something even cooler to this..." and then totally screwing it up. That makes me doubt my instincts, which is bad because I tend to trust my design instincts blindly. They failed me spectacularly this time though; I don't like a single thing about this piece.

So now I'm second-guessing ~everything~, which hurts. :-/ I wanted to have fun with my dragons and instead I'm freaking out that I'll ruin them. Still, making them work will go a long way towards making me feel better. Nothing succeeds like success.

BTW I see why you like Die better, but I think there's a lot to love in both pieces. It's good to be objective, but also good to find what's right in everything you do, so you can build on it. Otherwise you end up cutting off your ear a la Van Gogh...